


A Problem We Share

by Adeline_Hatter



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: If anyone ever showed my fanfiction to any of the VAs on Ninjago I'd died, Nya teams up with a bunch of Badasses, One shot continuation, PTSD RECOVERY, What I think Nya's Season Would Look like, break ups, epic fights, friendships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-09 08:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11665125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adeline_Hatter/pseuds/Adeline_Hatter
Summary: Join Nya Smith as she begins an epic quest to break free of the invisible chains that twist around her feet, to remind herself of who she used to be.Watch as Nya not so subtlely goes after a real destiny with everything she's got.





	1. She Lied

**Author's Note:**

> Let's do this thing

_ She lied.  _

 

It weighed on her, everyday, every hour, every minute and every second, it weighed on her very soul. The pressure didn’t get any lighter, she’d buried every memory of every captured she’d gone through, the tortures she’d endured. 

 

She refused to deal with it. 

 

_ She lied.  _

 

With everyday, she spoke the lies that flew off her tongue only one person caught the way she did so, but then again she knew he would because that man lied for a living, that’s why he kept his hair long. 

 

She stayed with Jay because it should have been right, it should have fixed  _ everything  _ but nothing in her soul or movements changed, he’d kept everything she’d ever given or made him in a tin box under his bed, and she found it hard to breathe every time she saw it.

 

_ She lied.  _

 

Her smile stopped reaching her eyes around the same time that the Time Twins came back, no one bothered to notice, so she started to practice to make sure the smiles looked real enough to fool even herself. 

 

It worked for awhile until she passed the statue of Samukai and relived his sword raking down her back as the shadows yelled for him to stop, that this wasn’t the plan, the pain, the blood, the scars that littered her back now. 

 

Her legs had started to walk backwards until she hit a chest, she wasn’t even sure who’s when their hand- Cold metallic -clasped her upper arm lightly to pull her outside of the museum. 

 

Ronin stood off to the side as she puked her guts out, as she shook but he didn’t touch her, and it was comforting to have him next to her, his eyes weren’t full of pity, but of empathy. 

 

_ Lied to Everyone.  _

 

Jay understandably was worried about her, but she didn’t know if he got it or not, wondered if he’d react the same way if he saw Nadakhan like she’d seen Samukai. 

 

He’d been so quiet voiced when she’d gotten the sentence she’d longed to say to him forever, she the lighthouse, the lie she’d spewed at him to get him to go through the portal. 

 

She’d watched as he looked at her in shock with tears in his eyes as she explained that she no longer saw it. 

 

Nya panicked in her head, and pulled on a cord she’d always kept there, knowing deep down that if she and Jay continued down the road they were going down, her eyes lost their spark that day, as she heard him cry into the night. 

 

Because she couldn’t see it anymore. 

 

_ The future he’d so desperately wanted with her.  _

 

She could legally drink, so she asked Ronin what his favourite bar was one afternoon, he’d replied a place called ‘Darkness’ it was run by a woman he’d know for a long time, someone who’d made sure people were ok and didn’t drink so much. 

 

Darkness turned out to be a large space, shadows in every corner of the room, the stage lit up as a singer sang something slow, she watched as people whispered and moved throughout the room, the laughter, the groups of friends who curled around each other in secrecy. 

 

“Are you Nya?” The bartender asked, and she’d just slowly nodded her affirmation, “Thought so, I’m Kara, that’s Laura,” She shoved a thumb at the blonde severing drinks further down the bar, “Ronin called ahead, said you needed someone to talk to.” 

 

The woman stood a little taller than her, head height when she leant down to look Nya in the eyes, her brown hair was smoothed over to one side her eyes were a low burning orange, “I guess I do.” 

 

_ Her destiny wasn’t with them.  _

 

“She’s waiting at the top of the stairs.” 

 

Nya climbed the spiral staircase behind the bar, onto a balcony that overlooked the whole floor down below, she gasped when she saw the woman, her dark brown curls clipped to her head in a crown, specks of golden hair throughout, her porcelain skin, the lips painted black that were placed in a soft smile. 

 

Kyoko.O.G.Dame was infamous, though no paper had ever gotten her actual photograph, she stood in a sweeping dress of dark purple, small hands were encased in black lace gloves, but it was the eyes that made her sure. 

 

The burning crimson that matched Garmadon’s eyes so fiercely. 

 

“Would you like to take a seat?” She motioned to the ornate green velvet sofa with gold and purple flowers patterned on it, Nya sat almost in awe of the woman in front of her, she couldn’t have been much older than her in the slightest, Kyoko sat opposite in an armchair that reminds Nya deeply of a throne, “Now. What can’t you say to those around you.” 

 

A beat. 

_ And the tears poured.  _

 

Everything tumbled out of her lips so fast she wasn’t sure she was making sense, the time she’d spent in Samukai’s dungeons, the serpentine, her first weeks as Samurai X, fearing she’d be turned into a servant of evil again, the screams she’d heard from Chen’s island, the coldness of the ghosts she’d fought, the fact she didn’t feel like being a Ninja was her whole destiny, the words she’d said to Jay in the lighthouse, the other timeline, Ronin’s betrayals, his help, and finally. 

 

“I didn’t want to let go of Samurai X, I was Samurai X I will always be Samurai X, and I can’t believe I let someone else take that title, that name that I built for myself and let Wu take away from me!” 

 

The last syllable is so quiet but so sure of itself that Kyoko looks at her quietly, her lips pressing together softly before she herself spoke. 

 

“And what do you believe your destiny is my dear?” Her voice was a soft smooth velvet sound, and Nya realised she’d been sobbing into the most likely very expensive sofa. 

 

But either way the question soaked into her skin, and for the very first time, in a very long time, Nya was so sure of something that she smiled. 

  
“ _ My destiny is mine.”  _


	2. Breath with me honey, oh just breath.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams take their toll

The ballroom is a sweeping mess of people and bodies, she scars their faces but only finds masks, her first step forward comes with resistance of a long skirt, and Nya looks up into the mirrored walls for the first time.

 

It’s a dark maroon colour, she can see small pieces of coral blue peeking out from the slit that reveals her left leg ending just after her knee, the neckline curves down to end in a nice small ‘V’ between her breasts, the off shoulder sleeves are delicate and don’t pinch her arms, a lattice made of ribbon decorates the front, pulling it tight into her waist but not enough to hinder her movements or breathing.

 

The shoes are a matching maroon, and her now shoulder length hair is curled slightly and pinned to the back of her head so it looks as if it’s a waterfall, phoenix earrings hang from her ears, a black pearl necklace with a small amber jewel in the middle sits on her throat, and her makeup is a simple wing tipped eyeliner, some mascara and her familiar dark red lips.

 

She is the only person without a mask, and she doesn’t know if she should be glad or unnerved, so instead she wanders aimlessly, the other people paying her no mind as she moves to stand directly under the large diamond and gold chandelier, basking in the light it reflected off the blue floors as everyone waltz around her.

 

Nya wants to lose herself in it more and more, until she looks up and meets a pair of eyes hidden behind a maroon plague doctor like mask, the beak is shorter and they’re standing a few paces away from her, briefly a man in electric blue with storming eyes comes to stand between them but…

 

She shoos him away with nary a thought as she continues to look into a pair of amber eyes, one seems clouded and she concludes it must be blind, they tilt their head up and notes of gold are picked up in those eyes.

 

Her feet move themselves as she stands in front of them.

 

“ _I know you don’t I?”_ She asks clearly, and she looks at them the auburn hair, their chin is full of stubble, “ _I know you.”_ Her voice doesn’t quack, she’s sure of it now. She knows them, maybe not all of them but… “ _I do. I know you.”_ She repeats.

 

Somewhere a bell chimes, and they bow at her before lifting her hands- Gloved with maroon lace -and brushing a kiss against her knuckles, before they move away from her.

 

“ _Wait!”_ She calls, and she hears the crack, underneath her, than another across the room as she starts to run towards the figure widening through the crowd, “ _I KNOW YOU!”_

 

She’s pulled down, cold metal encases her wrists, and tugs on her ankles, the dress is gone and she’s so _small_  her hands are too soft, are scratched and she can hear the shadows scream at someone to stop, bone scraping against stone floors, a sword sends sparks up as it’s dragged along a wall, it’s blade jagged and warped and so so _real_ as it raises above his head and-

 

* * *

 

Nya jolts awake her hands fluttering over soft covers, hair in her eyes, and her breathings heavy. Nausea claws into her stomach, and she spots an open door across the room which leads to a bathroom, she’s flung the covers off and running a moment later.

 

She barely makes it to the toilet before her guts come up again, it’s a dizzy drill and three more heaves next there’s a pair of hands pulling her ponytail tighter before they smooth down her arms, the hands are dainty, and they rub her back slowly, as if saying ‘It’s ok’ there’s a quiet mutters of comfort next.

 

And it’s like she’s underwater, everything is murky, her vision, her hearing, she feels like she’s drowning quietly here on marble bathroom tiles, “-4 5 6 7 8, Nya come on breath in with me for four seconds, hold it for seven, and then breathe while counting to eight in your head with me.”

 

Finally she can recognise who’s by her side, and so she follows the directions, she breaths in, holding it for seven seconds while Kyoko counts with her, and then breathing out slowly, repeating the motions again.

 

There’s a quiet conversation in the bathroom doorway, there’s purple everywhere, and Nya realises slowly that it’s Kyoko’s dress surrounding her, then there’s a glass of water presented next to the other woman who takes it, “Can you breath properly now?”

 

“I… I think so?” A nod, before the water is held out to her, “Thank you.” Her acceptance is met with nothing but worried looks, but all of the eyes are filled with empathy, as if they’ve been exactly where she is.

 

She recognises Kara next, and then there are two more blondes and a redhead next to her, the older of the two blondes had to have been Laura, the other blonde looked about the same age Lloyd was though if you asked Nya to give you a gender she couldn’t, Laura and that blonde shared the same eye colour so she was betting on siblings.

 

“My lady shall I send for someone of a medical profession?” The redhead speaks, and Nya watches Kyoko think it over, her lips are pressed together, before a short nod is emitted.

 

“Send for Abigail, she’s trustworthy.” Another nod, before the redhead walks off.

 

She doesn’t know why she doesn’t protest to having a nurse and/or doctor come look at her, she felt fine but- “I’m shaking…” It was a quiet whisper.

 

“That’s just the adrenaline dear.” Hands smooth through her hair, “Sorry you woke up here, you fell asleep on my sofa, and I didn’t think you’d want us to alert someone to come fetch you.” It was a safe assumption, the temple didn’t sound like the greatest of places to be, she looked up at Kyoko who was still sitting next to her despite the large bathroom, but it’s comforting.

 

Nya has no idea how long they all linger, but her nausea disappears soon after.

 

There’s a short order to go fetch some spare clothes for her before Kyoko sits her in one corner of the large furnished bedroom in an armchair that’s frayed and next to the window a book shelf within reaching distance.

 

The carpet is a cream colour, and maroon bed sheets are screwed up from her dash earlier, a few minutes later a woman with short cropped hair, and muscled arms, she asks a series of questions, before taking her vitals and then deeming her ok.

 

“Keep an eye on her for a bit.” Are her last words as she leaves.

 

So Nya sits with a book in her lap as the younger blonde- Or Hana as she’d learned a moment ago sat with a laptop in their lap, and she ponders again about pronouns, “Hana?”

 

Blonde curls bounce around their middle as they look up at her, they type at the laptop for a moment before turning it around to face Nya, the notes function open, “ _Yes?”_ Is written there, and she doesn’t let herself think about why they aren’t talking.

 

“What are your pronouns?”

 

More typing.

 

“ _Today they are She/Her.”_

 

“Oh are you um what’s the right word?”

 

“ _I’m Genderfluid Miss Smith.”_

 

“Call me Nya.”

 

She receives a nod in reply, her phone buzzes from where it is on the coffee table next to a tea set with a small pile of madeira cake slices on a plate on it’s other side, Kai’s contact shows up and she reaches for it.

 

“Hi-”

 

“Where are you?” He snaps through the phone, “Nya you’ve been gone since last night!” She looks around the room, scanning each and every item as he rants about her safety and the messed she made at the temple last night, each word making her want to curl into a small ball, especially when she heard Jay’s high pitched voice a moment later.

 

Instead of doing that she picked up her cup of tea and sipped it, “I’m perfectly safe, I spent the night at a friend’s, and Kai I’m twenty-four, I can handle myself-”

 

“I know but last night when you left, you seemed.. I don’t know off, and your room-” So he’d been in there, she thought of the thrown bedcovers the wide open windows, the books littering the floor as if a hurricane had come through it… She’d felt too suffocated in that room, and a slow numbness started to spread into her chest, “-look I’m just worried about you.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Sis that’s all well and good, but ‘Fine’ is not the same as ‘Good’ or ‘Ok’ Nya-”

 

“Kai fine is all I can really say I am right now.”

 

Silence, “Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

 

“I’m at that club Darkness on 42rd street.” He hangs up a moment later, and Hana is looking at her.

 

Nya downs her tea and pours another cup, grabbing a piece of cake as well, “Tell me about yourself Hana.” And so she does.


	3. This Looks Like Caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ronin appears, Kai comes to get her, and Sibling Interactions are forth coming.

A knock sounds at the door, and her immediate idea is that it’s Kai, before she looks up and sees instead Ronin standing there, but his usual swagger is gone, instead concern has filtered into his eye, his body language, everything, and it could just be the small part of her that’s always ready to pick a fight with him but Nya really wants to call his bullshit on the whole ‘I don’t care’ thing, because this… 

 

This looks like caring. 

 

“Hey.” Is all he says, and she smiles back at him softly, “Kyoko called me, said something about a friend needing a pick me up.” Her mouth opens to be sarcastic at him, and then he pulls his other hand from where it was hidden, coffee hangs from it, and her eyes focus on it immediately, “There’s the Nya Smith we all know and love, you can go Hana I’ll keep an eye on her.” 

 

The small girl looks at him with narrowed acid green eyes as if saying “You better not try anything.” Before shutting her laptop and standing with a passing nod to him, a small wave goodbye to Nya. 

 

“Interesting girl.” She remarks, and pauses, “She’s using She/Her pronouns today.” 

 

Ronin nods slipping into the other armchair like he owned the place, “Of course, her hair’s down, when it’s tied back in a ponytail at the base of her neck then she’s using He/Him, it’s the visual clues that lead it.” He holds out the coffee to her, and she takes it, “Kofi made it this morning, she misses her favourite customer.” 

 

“How can a robot miss me?” 

 

“It’s a mystery.” 

 

They share a smile, and the numbness reseeds slightly from where it was set, but a hole would always remain present she was sure of it, “H… Have you seen any of the guys this morning?” He shakes his head, “Kai’s coming by in a bit to pick me up.” 

 

“You don’t have to go back to the temple, or if you do you can pack your things and come back here.” Ronin pauses, picking up a slice of cake, “I knew something was up with you, your remarks have been losing their bite recently, can’t have my favourite sparring partner turn into a damsel in distress.” 

 

“I have never been a damsel in distress.” She bites back, “And you should watch your tone Oro, or you may have to be fully blind.” But then she falters, and starts laughing along with him, “Oh masters, there is something wrong with me isn’t there? Sometimes it feels like I’m drowning…” 

 

Her hands enclose around the warm paper cup, it seeps into her skin slowly and she watches the liquid shift with her thoughts, “There’s nothing wrong with you, I still feel like that sometimes.” She must have made some kind of expression for him to quiet his voice near the end into something soft and husky. 

 

“I can’t tell if you’re lying when you talk like that.” Nya admits softly, “Which only leaves me to the conclusions that you’re telling me the truth or you’re just getting better at it..” 

 

He’s watching her carefully, his lips part but nothing comes out as if he doesn’t know what to say. 

 

_ “I don’t know which one is scarier.”  _

  
  


* * *

 

Kai arrives with her favourite hoodie, takes one look at her, and decides immediately to take her anywhere but the temple. 

 

She sits in the front seat of the El Flamo- She had advised against the name, but he’d waved her off- the top is down as they drive through the rice fields towards their childhood home, neither of them speaks, she’s had her fair share of that today. 

 

The wind picks up in her hair, and she knows Kai keeps glancing at her, “You really should talk about it, I talked about it… It helps.” 

 

“I know you’ve been through things like this Kai, I’m not saying it’s inconsequential but-” Her voice is so quiet, to anyone else it would seem as if she were about to crack into pieces, “....I can’t talk about it to the rest of you guys, you have Jay, Cole, Zane, and Lloyd.” 

 

Her brother pulls to a stop, and looks at her, “How did it feel when you had to put on your gi for the first time?” It’s a nice enough question, and her lips part to answer it but no sound comes. 

 

“.....I kept telling myself it was right, but my skin crawled.” 

 

He just nodded and kept driving. 

 

They end up at the shore line, they used to come out here as kids, she’d dance in the waves while their godmother looked over them from the top of the hill, maroon hat covering her eyes, poised to come to their aid at a moment’s notice. 

 

Kai nudges her with his elbow before starting to pull his shoes off, he leaves his phone on the shore with them along with his socks, rolling his jeans up and then running into the shallow tide, beckoning her in. 

 

She slips off her own shoes and follows him in, the water is cold and sinks between her toes, the sand is a nice refreshing wash over her skin, and she wants to walk forward and just disappear into the waves- 

 

A hand grabs her arm a moment later, “Nya.” Things are swimming and her name matches the pace of the waves crashing against her sides, when had she gotten so deep, “Nya-” And the waves pushed her back to the shore, she landed on her back her eyes grew wide the sky clouded above them. 

 

“My powers…” She muttered quietly, she stretched her hand out above her towards the sky and focused on it, focused on getting the water to coil through her fingers, but nothing reacted to them, her eyes now focusing on her brother, recalling the moment before. 

 

_ “My powers are gone.”  _


	4. She Moved Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nya hears sob stories, and we get more of a look at everyone's favourite Oro Sibling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess the order of people speaking at the start of the chapter and get an aesthetic edit of a character of your choosing.

“I can’t find any logical reason as to how this could have happened, I’m so sorry Nya.” 

 

“This has never happened before to my knowledge without a child being on the way… You aren’t are you?” 

 

“Sis it’ll be fine! You’ll get them back!” 

 

“They’ll come back, right? RIGHT?” 

 

“Nya, maybe you’re afraid of something to do with your powers?” 

“I’m so sorry Nya, I don’t know what’s happened.” 

 

_ Everyone was just repeating the same thing!  _

 

But she reminded herself they were right, there was no logical answer and it was driving her insane beyond belief. Logic was her fall back, she depended on the logical side of things, not on the way she’d looked at it. 

 

She needed logic. But that was the one thing that refused to show itself, she looked at the mess of her room, the clothes were strewn around, the ripped wall paper, the books that had flown off the shelf, and it took two seconds. 

 

“Kai, can you go find some of the boxes we used to move in?” He doesn’t even bother asking what for as she starts loading her suitcases with her clothes, fishing her phone out from her pocket, dialing up the number Kyoko had pressed into her hands. 

 

Just like that Nya Smith decides to move out of the temple and into Darkness. 

 

* * *

 

She’s welcomed with open arms, Kyoko shows her back to the room she’d spent the previous night in, she sees the chest of draws against the end of the bed now. 

 

“There are some boxes in the walk in closet, they belong to the previous occupant, you can go through them if you’d like. The chest of draws at the end of the bed has the two top ones full with old mementos, confer with me if you’d like to empty them.” Nya nods along with the instructions the woman gives her carefully, “Though there are some pictures in there I’d recommend keeping if I were you, they make excellent blackmail... “ 

 

Brown curls swing as she pauses in the middle of the room, the woman’s hair was down and from the look of it she didn’t wear it like that often, “As you know the bathroom’s there, a walk in closet is that set of doors there, it’s large enough to store a small boutique, I’ll have someone fetch the rest of your clothes though you appear to be in need of some new ones, such an old fashion.” 

 

Nya peered at her, “How often do you do this?” She asks Kyoko who smiles softly. 

 

“I protect those who need it Miss Smith, the floor below this one is filled with small halfway apartments for people who need somewhere to stay.” Then why had she put Nya in this room? “You are an important person to my brother however so I thought you’d prefer it in here.” 

 

She left soon thereafter, stating she’d have someone come by in a bit to give her the rest of the tour and make sure she’d settle down for dinner as well.

 

There was a nagging at the back of Nya’s mind again, but she began unpacking all the same. 

* * *

  
  


“Ah, so you’ve returned than.” 

 

Were his first words when she stepped into the room. 

 

“Get out of my chair Ronin.” Were hers, Kyoko.O.G.Dame smiled at her older brother it was a chilly kind of smile that made him pause completely in place. 

 

Ronin Oro stared at his sister, and she stared right back, “Don’t you mean throne?” He prompts instead of vacating the aforementioned, her eyes change from the mellow crimson to an uplifting pale green. 

 

“She’s going to be ok.” 

 

“She’s Nya.” He bites back with respect and confidence, that would have been a massive mistake in front of anyone but her, “She’s built to survive.” 

 

She rolls her eyes, and he gets out of her desk chair, Kyoko sits in his stead, as he moves back around the desk to pull one of the armchairs up to the side of it, “I’m going to take her to Skylor’s this week, I think it’ll do her some good to have some fun.” Paperwork is pulled up, another agreement with another gang, she proofreads it quickly… Then opens her bottom draw and shreds it, “How could you let her be like this for so long.” 

 

“I didn’t have a chance to send her here until now.” 

 

A scowl is present on her face, she knows because it reflects in the mirror on the other side of the room, her hair’s still down she realises, and her eyes are most likely swimming back to her usual array of red hues, “Bullshit.” 

 

“If you spent time with Wu more than you do you’d understand, that man is seiferling.” She laughs bitterly, “He liked to push his expectations onto other people, he’s lied to countless people, and he almost succeeded in getting with Misako.” 

 

They both remembered what the woman had been to their Mother, and to her Father. 

 

“Why use the past hence?” Her voice is cold, “You know as well as I do that man seems to survive despite everything he did, like karma likes him enough to excuse all of the shit he did… To our Mother, to our family.” 

 

Ronin nods, “I suppose you have a point.” 

 

“I always have a point.” 


	5. Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New characters are introduced, and Nya finds an old friend.

The first week living at Darkness is uneventful, every day she’d see the people she met that first night, Hana would come and sit with her, his hair done up in a ponytail at the base of his neck on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. 

 

Today was Saturday, and breakfast was as lively as ever, there were two other women who lived there, along with a boy they all introduced as ‘Niall’ who nodded at her, his black hair a mess, he sawed above every other head in the room, long-limbed and scarred from head to toe…. At least from what she could observe, his eyes matched Laura’s and Hana’s though so they were probably family. 

 

“Smith? Would you like some porridge?” Katya Olaf spoke with a thick accent, and smiled with a speckled row of teeth, speckled with silver, gold, and what looked to be steel, her eyes were a slate of iron coloured orbs, her hair was black and curved down her back roughly, her skin was pale, “You would look lovely with black pearls.” 

 

A flash of a necklace inlaid with black pearls and amber jewels appeared in her head, “I’m not really hungry.” Was all she could say before she sipped her coffee. Lavender, lilies, and the smell of roses wafted into the room with Kyoko’s swimming purple dress. 

 

“Good morning all.” 

 

“Good morning Kyoko.” Came the reply, Nya nodding her acknowledgement, and Chi walked a few paces behind her red hair curled up in a long ponytail, her eyes glowing as she scanned the room. 

 

Kyoko sat at the head of the table accepted a bowl of porridge from Katya, and poured herself a cup of coffee. 

 

Everyone watched her in silence as she picked up and sipped it. 

 

“We’ll be in attendance at Skylor’s this evening.” An immediate cheer throughout the room, and the talking fast-paced, and Nya caught snippets of conversation between the group, she felt a little out of place and nervous before a plate of toast was placed in front of her, “At least one slice Miss Smith, you need to eat solids and not live off coffee.” 

 

Nya looked at the woman seeing the soft smile and crinkled nose, no hint of the cold Queen the media said she was, all she saw was a warm smile and even warmer eyes. Kyoko looked almost motherly as she sat eating her breakfast. 

 

Her eyes slid back down to the plate as Laura excitedly inquired about what everyone would wear, her girlfriend groaning but smiling behind her mug all the same. 

 

Nya picked up the toast and ate both slices.

 

* * *

 

Laura popped her head in the door, “It’s so weird knowing someone’s sleeping in here.” She remarked, “Amren? You can bring in the boxes now.” 

 

“What boxes-” Nya began but stopped as the last member of what she supposed must have been Kyoko’s closest friends walked in with three boxes in hand, a dress box, a shoe box, and a jewellery box, “Why are you bringing me these?” 

 

“Kyoko buys new formal outfits for the Inner Circle at the start of every month-”  _ Inner Circle?  _ “-it’s her way of welcoming us home.” The blonde continued on, the quieter one of her two visitors walked over and placed the boxes on the chest of draws, “There’s also a party in a few weeks time that needs attending, not sure who Kyoko’s sending to monitor the event yet, but we’ll see.” 

 

Amren smiled, “I design the dresses, Kyoko sends them off to be made. You’ll look wonderful in maroon and royal blue Nya- Can I call you Nya?” She nodded, “Well, here you go. That wardrobe will be filled up in no time, are you coming to the party-” And she nattered on, the bright auburn hair was cut short but it was amazingly curly, eyes alight as she talked and talked about the dress, the matching shoes, and the necklace that Katya had made. 

 

She reminded Nya of Jay just a tad. But in a more focused way. 

 

“I’m going to be wearing a t-shirt and some jeans.” Was all Nya said, before she gave them both a pointed look, Laura pulled on Amren’s arm and the two smiled matching sheepishly, leaving the room. 

 

Nya sighed, and opened a cardboard box, pulling out her favourite pair of jeans- burgundy in colour, holes in the knees -and a blue short sleeved t-shirt, the door opened again and Amren reappeared. 

 

“Sorry! I almost forgot about this!” She held up a smaller box, “Ronin said you’d been looking for a good coat, he was rather adamant that you got it today for some reason.” She left the box with the others and ran away again, her smirk was mischievous. 

 

Despite the overall warmness of what she guessed was the ‘Inner Circle’ Nya felt a little better, and she did like it here. Ronin swanned in and out of the place as he pleased, flirted with the bartenders who rolled their eyes at him but smiled all the same before returning to detailing their new apartment in the city. 

 

Her room was large, she hadn’t touched the boxes that had been here since she first arrived, nor the two top draws, she’d get to them if she needed the space. 

 

And no matter what she did the room constantly held a faint yet familiar scent of burnt wood, and aftershave, like the person who’d stayed in this room before, had been partial to things that were considered masculine. 

 

When she asked the others shrugged, Niall had almost looked like he was about to tell her before his sisters dragged him away. It seemed to be a big kept secret, though Nya remained with no idea why. 

 

Sighing she pulled out her sketchbook for this month and turned to a blank page, she was going to go and fetch the other volumes from their place buried under a loose plank of wood in her room at the temple tomorrow, purely because she knew Jay would be at work, and she wanted to see how Lloyd was doing. 

 

Her pencil was missing, leaving the sketchbook on the coffee table she went hunting, it was strange she usually kept the two together, but to her knowledge, no one else had touched it- 

 

It sat perfectly balanced and wedged in the opening of the right top drawer of the chest of them, freshly sharpened as well, she’d have to ask if anyone had been in her room then, it seemed as if the writing utensil was just waiting for her. 

 

She pulled it out. 

 

The draw came free, rolling off its runners and straight onto the floor, perfectly intact but what lay inside was- 

 

Was a bright maroon hat. 

 

A hat she’d seen a million times before. 

 

A hat that belonged to an asshole. 

 

The hat she’d stolen in the other timeline to cover their faces- 

 

She swallowed, and pushed the memory away, someone had planned this almost as if they’d known what her reaction would be. 

 

A knock sounded on the door, and in walked Kyoko who looked at the draw with a befuddled expression, “Oh it did it again didn’t it?” At Nya’s even more confused look the other woman sighed, “That draw always slides off its runners when someone opens it- I thought I told you to come talk to me when you wanted to empty them?” 

 

She wasn’t mad Nya noted, but the confusion was practised carefully, almost as if… 

 

“You wanted me to look in the draw.” 

 

Kyoko smiles. 

 

“I knew you were clever enough for this.” 


End file.
